Farm neighbor Chiarina was dicing the carrot for her pasta sauce when I dropped in one recent morning, her husband Marino nearby and how he beamed when I asked him about his…
If you read my recent note on Giuseppa making her homemade fettuccine, you’ll already know that the best in the rural cuisine of Umbria reigns in the farmhouse kitchen of Giuseppa, in…
In the Deruta countryside, Giuseppa opens home and heart to all. When you arrive, Giuseppa comes out of her house, perhaps with her two beloved Jack Russells and that welcoming smile says…
Years ago, when Pino and I worked the land here in the hills outside Assisi, our rural neighbors taught us how to prune our vineyard, harvest our olives, scythe field greens for…
Prosciutto, pancetta, salami, salsicce, coppa, barbozza. The names unite in an enticing rhythm, so appealing to your ear. Even if you’re a vegetarian. When I dropped in recently at the house of…
When we first harvested olives here in the Umbrian countryside in an icy December, 1976, the picking was all done by hand. Basket around the waist, you’d reach up the olive branch…
I hadn’t seen Giuseppa in many months, for I haven’t been guiding visitors through the wonders of Umbria in many months due to global travel restrictions. Perugia/Deruta was always a much loved…
Under our national lockdown, those in towns and cities are confined to their homes. Fortunanatamente, Pino and I are “confined” to the countryside around our farmhouse. As permission is allowed to exit…
In Italy, you can easily be distracted from a possible CPA (i.e., a Coronavirus Panic Attack) in the days preceding March 8th, la Festa delle Donne (literally, “the Feast of Women” i.e., – International Women’s Day). Just…
….but a sure remedy for coronavirus ansia (anxiety) is to drop in for lunch at Peppa’s. She’ll greet you warmly with a beaming smile and probably an apology, “Scusa, ma non ho molto pronto…